The Hawks made two roster moves with the release of center Edy Tavares and the signing of forward Ryan Kelly on Monday.
Mike Scott is set to undergo a non-surgical procedure for a sore left knee that limited the forward in training camp and caused him to miss the first two games of the season. He is expected to miss four weeks.
Tavares was in his second season with the Hawks. He appeared in one game, playing 3:36 against the 76ers on Saturday with two points and one rebound. He appeared in 11 regular-season games with the Hawks last season and averaged 2.3 points and 1.9 rebounds in 6.6 minutes. The 7-foot-3 native of Cape Verde spent much of last season in the NBA Development League and played for the Hawks’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League each of the past two years.
Tavares needed to play to continue his development and with versatile big men Kris Humphries and Mike Muscala on the roster, playing time was again going to be limited.
Tavares was reportedly close to signing with Barcelona following his release.
Kelly signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Hawks this summer and was on the training camp roster. He was waived on Oct. 18. He appeared in all six of the team’s exhibition games and totaled 29 points (4.8 average), 16 rebounds and eight assists. Kelly was signed and released by the Celtics after being waived by the Hawks.
The Hawks liked the way Kelly fit their style of play and will likely still be a part of the plan when Scott is able to return.
